Hailing from just around the corner in Southend, Rollin Machine plays dirty rock n’ roll/punk, and along with a video for the first track, this is their debut EP.
The EP opens with “Joyride,” which, with its slightly self-explanatory title, tells the story of stealing a car and going for a wild drive. Steel-like drums fade in over underlayed guitar feedback before the thick bass rumbles in, followed by chord strums and Dan Fisher’s punky voice which is hard-pushing, but not to the point of over-distorting and losing tune or pitch.
During the verses the instruments are turned down slightly to place emphasis on vocals before kicking in again for the chorus, which mentions going through a red light (along Southend Sea Front, incidentally) as shown in the video and leading to a small piece of trivia that this faux pas was caught on camera and the driver was later fined and ordered to take a driver’s awareness course. As the end of the song approaches instruments get harder and faster before quickly fading out.
“Pick up the Pieces” opens with a thick guitar riff accompanied by heavy bass and drums. Dan’s voice is hard to describe in this song as is the forthcoming style of music. However, as I was told in an earlier interview with the band themselves, Rollin Machine’s whole sound is hard to describe, so I guess they got the sound they were going for, in a way.
Track three, “DNA,” is yet another hard hitting punk track which was made to be played very loudly, even when your brother, who works nights, is sleeping across the room from you. As well as hard and loud, the song is fast and contains my favourite and some of the catchiest lyrics on the EP: “Can’t change the way I was born; God gave me wings but I grew horns”. Throughout the song the guitar occasionally breaks off in order to make space for vocals and bass prominence, until the end when thick guitars are layered and looped until they fade out.
` As Rollin Machine is a punk band, it’s pretty much an industry standard that the EP contains a song about girls and/or sex, and this is where the closing track, “Dirty Rock n Rolla” comes in. Beginning with the whirrs of a theremin, the song soon moves forward with lyrics about deception and seduction accompanied by instruments played in a style similar to that of garage rock bands. Occasionally the theremin returns, with emphasis at the 2:30 mark when the lyrics “She’s a dirty rock n rolla!” are repeated over singular drum kicks. Soon after, the guitars return for a short while until finally everything fades out and the band can be heard cheering in the background as if to say “We did it!”
I think it’s very safe to say that Rollin Machine’s debut EP has been EP of the week for me and is essential listening for fans of dirty rock n’ roll and punk. CDs can be purchased at gigs, and if you wish to know a bit more about the band, check out the interview I did with them last week. The band can often be found playing at open mic nights around Southend and will be playing the Hamelin Trust MayDayer festival at Billericay Football Club on May the 21st.
Grab the Mic 